kjackson

If I don't get out soon, the fly tying gear and fly rods are coming out. I can see the Clousers and Gurglers heading for a box right now...

I was running over a list of species I've caught on it: kingfish, AJs, grouper, reef sharks, halibut, king salmon, coho salmon, pink salmon, several species of rockfish, Pacific cod, ling cod...and I have a friend who swears by it for salmon and lake trout in the Great Lakes. I'd love to hit the rigs off Venice and try tuna on the system. I may have to dig some out and play once the weather warms. One thing I've found is that in cold water, you need to work a slower stroke.

While this doesn't apply to crappie, I can say that there are times that the color of flake will make a difference to walleyes. This particular time was in Washington's Lake Roosevelt, a clear lake on the Columbia that is similar to Beaver in a lot of ways. M buddy and I are fishing down a rocky bank, casting leadhead jigs rigged with four-inch plastic worms. He's kicking my tail using a salt-and-pepper red flake worm while I am using the same thing but with blue flake (or vice versa...don't recall who was using what). I mean it was a serious tail thumping like 10 to 0 on smallish walleyes. I change to his flake color and start catching them about as fast as he was--the same worm and the same flake color. So after I break off on a rock, I tie on a new jig and see a Kalin's worm in my bag that is a laminated red salt-and-pepper over a chartreuse salt-and-pepper. And I start catching fish about as fast as I did before. So I had the wrong color flake and couldn't catch fish, but when I try something off the wall, I get back on it? Fish and fishing can be weird; that's what I say at times like that.

That's a valid point and well worth remembering, J-Doc. There are so many variables that can decide whether a fish is going to commit or not, and visibility of the lure is just one. Your point about baitfish--It's not that some baitfish give off light but rather that they reflect it. UV is part of the light spectrum, and it's there all the time. I did a lot of research when I was writing an article for one of the trade magazines on the UV phenomenon, and indeed some fish reflect it just as some fish see it. Some fur and feathers (and plants and flowers) reflect it. One example is the blue jay feather found in the UK. It reflects UV, and it is a popular feather in many trout and salmon flies. It isn't the blue that is necessarily the attractant, but rather the UV reflectance. And your comeuppance whupping is a good example of why there is no silver bullet in fishing. UV-reflectance isn't anything more than saying that a lure may be more visible to fish. The lure or bait or whatever still has to have action, motion, size, or whatever to get the fish to bite. It could be that the water I was fishing in wasn't Beaver clear, and it could be that the purple color of the Smash Shad was more attractive than the pearl Flicker Shad, or they rattled better or had a better action that the fish preferred that day. Or it could be that in the darker water they were more visible because of the UV reflectance. Dunno, y'know. Somewhere in my fly tying stuff, I have material specially treated to reflect UV. It would be interesting to tie some jigs with it and non-reflective material and test 'em.

Man, I can't wait for the weather to break! I'm spending too much non-work time on the computer and thinking about fishing instead of doing... If I were to get serious about chasing stripers in Beaver, I'd probably drag out the sabiki rig and spend a day or so catching shad. Then I'd brine the buggers to toughen them (and maybe dye some at the same time) and then freeze a year's worth. If that didn't work real well, I'd catch a bunch of small bluegill, scale them, fillet them and cut bait strips. Then I'd brine and freeze those as well. The shad I'd fish whole, plug cut (as in salmon fishing) or with one of the helmets behind a flasher. The bluegill strips might get hit with one of the shad/herring scents and then fished in one of the Great Lakes meat rigs behind some kind of a flasher. Another possibility is to try a tuna ball on a lure like the Flatfish or Kwikfish. Or I might avoid the whole bait thing and fish a Shimano Butterfly jig when I found fish on the depthfinder. I've caught so many predatory fish, both fresh and salt, on the Butterfly jig that it might be my go-to anyway. I really need to get on the water...

Here's something that I will be working with this year--it's UV enhanced lures. Last fall, I was doing some exploring in Table Rock below Holiday Island. I was pulling both Flicker Shads and Storm's Smash Shad. The Smash Shad caught twice as many crappies as the Flicker. Both were about the same size nd were fished at roughly the same depth, and both have about the same dive profile. BUT, the Smash Shad had a UV finish. Ultraviolet-reflective finishes are a big deal in the trout-salmon-steelhead world because they catch more fish, as those species generally see UV light in at least part of their life cycle. Not all fish see UV, and of those that do, they may gain or lose the ability at different stages. Unfortunately, so far there isn't a lot of research done on many freshwater fish, so it may not be possible to look up a fish and tell whether or not it sees UV bandwidths. So it really comes down to experience--catch a lot of fish on a UV bait, and it may be because the lure reflects that light. Or it could be a lot of other factors--the base color, the action, the depth, the day, the usual stuff. What makes UV important, IMO, is because it penetrates water better (can be seen deeper), and it penetrates murky water better than the visible wavelengths. It is visible deeper in the water column. It is also something that some insects and fish reflect as well, and some fish may be able to use it to find food. You'll find that natural materials such as fur and feathers may reflect UV as well, and that is why some fly patterns do better if they are tied of natural materials rather than dyed. Whether it is something crappie can see is up for grabs. In my online research, I've found that scientists think bass don't see UV. Some perch and perch-like fish may (this might include walleye) and that some salmonid species will, again depending upon life stage. But it will be interesting to test.

Very nice! Now to put it into play...

I've had good luck on Mag Warts in the Potholes Reservoir in Washington but have yet to fish them much here. It sounds like I may have to dig a few out and add to the collection.

In my Florabama trip report, I mentioned playing with the new Curado baitcasters. Here's the official release. There are few details as those are embargoed until the Classic. But since some of you showed interest in the reel, here is the "official" word: ANGLERS TO ‘GET MORE’ WITH NEW CURADO -- WORLDWIDE LAUNCH ON FEBRUARY 21 AT CLASSIC OUTDOOR EXPO IRVINE, Calif. – For Immediate Release – February 5, 2014 – As interest and anticipation spreads on fishing web site forums and bulletin boards, not only coast-to-coast but also worldwide, Shimano confirms the impending introduction of an entire new series of Curado baitcasting reels, announces Bob Mahoney with Team Shimano. “We’ll unveil the new Curado I series reels officially on Friday, February 21 at the Classic Outdoor Expo in Birmingham, Alabama,” Mahoney said, “and on that same Friday, select tackle shops in both the U.S. and Canada will also have a limited supply of reels available.” Shimano product development and sales staffers have been on a clandestine tour of key tackle dealers throughout the country since early January – with a special emphasis on shops focusing on bass fishing tackle. “Their interest in the new reels has been off-the-chart strong – and as much as we’ve tried to keep info on Curado under wraps until our official launch at the Bassmaster Classic,” Mahoney notes, “certain details about the new reels have filtered out – and of course, that has many anglers buzzing with interest.” As anglers expect from Shimano, the new Curado reels will feature cutting-edge technology and features, “and we’ll look forward to showing it and telling you more for those attending the Classic Outdoor Expo – and on our web site, Facebook page and through select tackle dealers in a few weeks,” said Mahoney. “With our commitment to this somewhat legendary baitcasing reel series at Shimano, we can assure anglers that will definitely get more with the new Curado I series.” On February 21, tackle retailers at the Classic Outdoor Expo will have a limited number of Curado reels available, plus the Shimano web site – fish.shimano.com – lists tackle dealers in the U.S. and Canada carrying Shimano tackle.

The Chamberlain release gets some pretty good reviews from kokanee guys. The fish they're catching often are less than 12 inches and shaped like a trout. (They are landlocked sockeye salmon, FYI, but usually are anything but salmon-sized.) Offshore planerboard releases are supposed to be pretty good as well. The Shuttle Hawk releases don't fare well. Scotty also has a release they call "hair trigger." Haven't read anything about it.

The minis may be the ticket.. I'll have to check them out.

Apparently, I'm going to have to fine tune my release techniques. I also use Cannons, but I've had trouble getting them to kick off. I know the basics as far as line position, but finding that right spot that keeps things together and then releases on small fish (compared to the salmon I'm used to) is still a bit tricky. Cannon used to have a rubber-band release for use on stocker trout and kokanee, but it was based on the idea that the rubber band would break on the strike. I may do some surfing today and see if I can find kokanee releases somewhere. Those should be about right.

I did not expect to see that bit about downriggers for winter crappie...so what release are you using? The ones I have wouldn't trip on crappie if I greased them first.

The job has its advantages, but pay isn't one of them... The problem with a trip like this, besides the fact that I wish I was there now instead of looking at a winter wonderland, is that I also start looking at my gear and think that I need to replace some things. The Curado and Stradic reels are definitely on my list. So are the Muscle crankbaits--worked slow, they have a very Wart-like wobble. Then I really 'need' a new crankbait rod... A ttrip like this is worse than going to ICAST because instead of looking at new stuff, you get to play with it, see and feel how it works, and that makes you want to own it. Sigh.

You'll love it down this way; congratulations!

I did indeed, Quill. They are extremely nice--to the point I'm thinking the new Curado will be my reel of choice. Once you get one dialed in, it is incredibly smooth. One feature I like is the adjustment for the magnets is now a small dial on the outside. The Metanium was good as well, but I prefer the Curado. The Expride rods also hit the mark. They are like some of the high-end Japanese rods but with a lower price point. The Jackall Adrenas (I think that's the way it's spelled) was more expensive and not as good as the Expride, IMO. The Crucial rods I fished with were a step above the previous models. I also will pick up one of the new G.Loomis IMX rods; I need a better crankbait stick...only fished with a couple of those, so I don't have a good feel for the rest of the new IMX rods. The image is Cody Meyer with one of the big fish...

I got back last Friday from a trip to a private lake in Alabama just north and west of Pensacola. Since I'm once again snowed in, I thought I'd write about it. The lake is part of a resort and is managed for catch and release with some tight restrictions. First, you have to pay to play...usually by owning property and buying a fishing membership in the property. Second, you can only use boats that are on the lake--the owner doesn't want the chance of any stray nasties being carried in on other boats. While it is a small lake--about 200 acres or so--it is intensively managed, monitored and fertilized. It has largemouth bass and bluegills. This was a trip with Shimano that was intended to highlight their new products: revised Curados, Metanium reels and Jackall, Shimano Expride, Crucial and G.Loomis IMX rods. The plan was for me to fly in on Sunday, fish the next two days and leave Wednesday morning. Another shift was scheduled to come in then and replace me and the other guests. Tuesday was expected to be on the cool side with a low of 19 and high in the upper 30s. A buddy predicted fishing would be dirt slow because of the approaching cold front, and since the bass were Florida strain, they should be inactive. If what we found was "inactive", then I want to see 'em when they're at full speed. Monday started slow with my partner, FLW pro Cody Meyer, running the trolling motor--electric motors only in the lake. We had a couple of bites, and I caught the smallest bass of the trip--a two-pounder-- when I trolled a crankbait as we moved from one spot to another. Then I hooked and landed what was the largest bass of the trip and my personal best--a 10-13 (in my avatar). It was on a Texas-rigged Jackall Cover Craw fished in some shallow stumps. Cody next popped a fish, around eight pounds. As we were moving back to the boathouse, I hooked another fish that tore off, pulling drag. It had shoulders; it fought much harder than the 10, and it fought harder than any of the other fish I caught on the trip. I didn't see it, so I can't even guess at weight, but 10 days or so before out trip, one of the members caught a 13-6. I also had another good bite just before we left the lake for lunch. After lunch, I went out with the product development manager for Shimano, and he got on a jerkbait bite, using a Jackall Squirrel, a deep-diving jerkbait. I tied on a Jackall Muscle 7 with the idea that I could fish this very slowly through some of the same water. The word we got when we arrived at the lake was that a couple of days earlier, some guys had been tearing the bass up deadsticking lures by the dam. They even caught bass letting an A-rig lie on the bottom. So I though that a very slowly retrieved crankbait might work--and by slow, I mean about a crank per second. Just after we launched, I hooked another big fish, but this one came to the surface about eight feet from the boat and looked to be larger than the 10-13 I landed earlier. The hooks pulled free before I could get it in netting range, but I did land one about nine, and as I recall another one that was slightly smaller. I also hooked and lost two other bass. My 'guide' also caught fish on the Squirrel. What was really fascinating was seeing the big bass coming up and busting shad on the surface. We'd hook one occasionally, but the surface activity was incredible--something I'd never seen. Robby (the Shimano product manager) said it was like what you'd see if you were chunking tuna and had a school right at the boat. Here were bass in the 5,6,7, 9-pound and larger category surfacing and working in a school on shad. That night the freezing rain hit, and it was followed by snow. Temps dropped fast, and the morning was a lot colder than predicted--something in the lower teens. The roads were impassable, and walking outside was kind of tricky. We did make it down to the boathouse and hit the lake. The surface activity was mostly gone, or if it was there, it was hidden by the wind that was blowing 15-25 mph. Talk about cold! It was brutal. Yet the bass were still biting. I don't recall exactly what I caught that morning, but there wasn't anything over eight in the morning session. In the afternoon, after getting warm and having lunch, I went out with the Shimano PR guy. I tied a Muscle 7 crankbait on his line and one on mine, and we headed out. I had two strikes. He had two as well, but he landed one of his, a 10-12 or 10-15, depending upon the scale bounce. The next morning was my scheduled departure, and American Airlines assured me I was good to go until about a half hour before we needed to leave for the 40-mile drive to Pensacola. The flight was cancelled as the airport closed as did just about everything in the area. I spent about half the morning getting ready to leave and then the rest trying to find a flight out. I was shunted to a Friday flight out of Ft. Walton Beach. I fished that (Wednesday) afternoon, but I can't remember if I did much beyond trying to keep guides free of ice and my fingers from falling off. The next day was a lot better, weather-wise. The wind was down, the clouds were holding off, and the fish were once again moving. Birds would show where the shad balls were, and by following them, we could get into fish. The morning was slow for us, but Robby, the product development guy, got into fish using a small jerkbait. Afternoon was better with the warming water and increasing air temps. Robby and his partner caught seven or eight fish, topped by three that were a few ounces shy of nine pounds. I landed one fish--a nice, chunky six-to-seven pound bass. Again, I caught it on the Muscle 7, but it was slightly different. We'd seen bass moving in the back end of a little cove, and we fished our way back to it. I cast the crankbait out (my partner for this shift was using a jerkbait), and as the lure approached the boat, I saw a shad flip just in front of it. I killed the bait. Then I saw a swirl, so I set the hook and landed the fish. That was my last fish of the trip. This wasn't a numbers trip by any standard. I think I caught fewer than a dozen bass, and I hooked maybe a dozen more plus maybe that many hits. The bass were barely nipping at the baits, which accounts, I think, for the loss of so many. I did have the honor of catching the smallest and largest bass taken on the trip. It was a great trip, and I wish I was there now... I'll try to add some pix when I figure out how...I'm having trouble resizing and moving them to spot where I can attach.

I got back last Friday from a trip to a private lake in Alabama just north and west of Pensacola. Since I'm once again snowed in, I thought I'd write about it. The lake is part of a resort and is managed for catch and release with some tight restrictions. First, you have to pay to play...usually by owning property and buying a fishing membership in the property. Second, you can only use boats that are on the lake--the owner doesn't want the chance of any stray nasties being carried in on other boats. While it is a small lake--about 200 acres or so--it is intensively managed, monitored and fertilized. It has largemouth bass and bluegills. This was a trip with Shimano that was intended to highlight their new products: revised Curados, Metanium reels and Jackall, Shimano Expride, Crucial and G.Loomis IMX rods. The plan was for me to fly in on Sunday, fish the next two days and leave Wednesday morning. Another shift was scheduled to come in then and replace me and the other guests. Tuesday was expected to be on the cool side with a low of 19 and high in the upper 30s. A buddy predicted fishing would be dirt slow because of the approaching cold front, and since the bass were Florida strain, they should be inactive. If what we found was "inactive", then I want to see 'em when they're at full speed. Monday started slow with my partner, FLW pro Cody Meyer, running the trolling motor--electric motors only in the lake. We had a couple of bites, and I caught the smallest bass of the trip--a two-pounder-- when I trolled a crankbait as we moved from one spot to another. Then I hooked and landed what was the largest bass of the trip and my personal best--a 10-13 (in my avatar). It was on a Texas-rigged Jackall Cover Craw fished in some shallow stumps. Cody next popped a fish, around eight pounds. As we were moving back to the boathouse, I hooked another fish that tore off, pulling drag. It had shoulders; it fought much harder than the 10, and it fought harder than any of the other fish I caught on the trip. I didn't see it, so I can't even guess at weight, but 10 days or so before out trip, one of the members caught a 13-6. I also had another good bite just before we left the lake for lunch. After lunch, I went out with the product development manager for Shimano, and he got on a jerkbait bite, using a Jackall Squirrel, a deep-diving jerkbait. I tied on a Jackall Muscle 7 with the idea that I could fish this very slowly through some of the same water. The word we got when we arrived at the lake was that a couple of days earlier, some guys had been tearing the bass up deadsticking lures by the dam. They even caught bass letting an A-rig lie on the bottom. So I though that a very slowly retrieved crankbait might work--and by slow, I mean about a crank per second. Just after we launched, I hooked another big fish, but this one came to the surface about eight feet from the boat and looked to be larger than the 10-13 I landed earlier. The hooks pulled free before I could get it in netting range, but I did land one about nine, and as I recall another one that was slightly smaller. I also hooked and lost two other bass. My 'guide' also caught fish on the Squirrel. What was really fascinating was seeing the big bass coming up and busting shad on the surface. We'd hook one occasionally, but the surface activity was incredible--something I'd never seen. Robby (the Shimano product manager) said it was like what you'd see if you were chunking tuna and had a school right at the boat. Here were bass in the 5,6,7, 9-pound and larger category surfacing and working in a school on shad. That night the freezing rain hit, and it was followed by snow. Temps dropped fast, and the morning was a lot colder than predicted--something in the lower teens. The roads were impassable, and walking outside was kind of tricky. We did make it down to the boathouse and hit the lake. The surface activity was mostly gone, or if it was there, it was hidden by the wind that was blowing 15-25 mph. Talk about cold! It was brutal. Yet the bass were still biting. I don't recall exactly what I caught that morning, but there wasn't anything over eight in the morning session. In the afternoon, after getting warm and having lunch, I went out with the Shimano PR guy. I tied a Muscle 7 crankbait on his line and one on mine, and we headed out. I had two strikes. He had two as well, but he landed one of his, a 10-12 or 10-15, depending upon the scale bounce. The next morning was my scheduled departure, and American Airlines assured me I was good to go until about a half hour before we needed to leave for the 40-mile drive to Pensacola. The flight was cancelled as the airport closed as did just about everything in the area. I spent about half the morning getting ready to leave and then the rest trying to find a flight out. I was shunted to a Friday flight out of Ft. Walton Beach. I fished that (Wednesday) afternoon, but I can't remember if I did much beyond trying to keep guides free of ice and my fingers from falling off. The next day was a lot better, weather-wise. The wind was down, the clouds were holding off, and the fish were once again moving. Birds would show where the shad balls were, and by following them, we could get into fish. The morning was slow for us, but Robby, the product development guy, got into fish using a small jerkbait. Afternoon was better with the warming water and increasing air temps. Robby and his partner caught seven or eight fish, topped by three that were a few ounces shy of nine pounds. I landed one fish--a nice, chunky six-to-seven pound bass. Again, I caught it on the Muscle 7, but it was slightly different. We'd seen bass moving in the back end of a little cove, and we fished our way back to it. I cast the crankbait out (my partner for this shift was using a jerkbait), and as the lure approached the boat, I saw a shad flip just in front of it. I killed the bait. Then I saw a swirl, so I set the hook and landed the fish. That was my last fish of the trip. This wasn't a numbers trip by any standard. I think I caught fewer than a dozen bass, and I hooked maybe a dozen more plus maybe that many hits. The bass were barely nipping at the baits, which accounts, I think, for the loss of so many. I did have the honor of catching the smallest and largest bass taken on the trip. It was a great trip, and I wish I was there now... I'll try to add some pix when I figure out how...I'm having trouble resizing and moving them to spot where I can attach.

I've fished with Duckett rods quite a bit and like them. They have micro guides, and are very sensitive. However, last week I was fishing in Florabama--just north and west of Pensacola--during the miserably cold ice-and-snow event down there. The guides on the rods we used--Jackall, Shimano and G.Loomis--had significant problems with icing. The smaller guides were the worst, as you can imagine, and if we had been using rods with micro guides, the problem would have been pretty bad. While you can fish with ice in your guides, we had problems with sensitivity. You also felt the line dragging and breaking free from the ice accumulation. It doesn't make sense that ice should impede line, but it sure seemed that way.

Just viewed the Ranger video, and it would make even the tightest open the checkbook. I really like the idea of a quiet boat, and I love the aluminum decking. Marine plywood is only as good as the installation, and having had a boat where the floor turned soft, I appreciate aluminum. I'm leaving now for Steelwood Lodge in southern Alabama to see if I can top the 13-6 largemouth caught there last week. Wish me luck!

How slow can you troll with the 75? While I've had good luck with Yamahas and Suzukis, I'm not adverse to buying a motor made in the US if it can do what I want. Having used (and currently owning) two-strokes, I said I'd never own another, given the four-stroke low-speed, low-noise and no-smoke features. But I could change.

Looking at that video, I see the Rangers running awfully flat. Get some lift on the bow, and the water contact is moved astern, which can be a good thing in a vee hull, and you usually get an increase in speed and generally a drier ride. One thing I really like about the Rangers is the channel iron trailer. There are no tubes to collect moisture and provide a home for rust. I am surprised at the difference in pricing, Fins. The RT 188 and the Tracker 190 Tx was $600 in Ranger's favor. However, all that does is give base pricing; rigging it the way I want will change things.

RPS, F&F-- I'll take you both up on that. However, the next really warm day is scheduled to be sometime in July from what I can see. But when I get back from my trip next week, I'll keep an eye on the weather and your open days. J-Doc-- I'll have to take a closer look next time I'm close to one of the boats. Thanks for the Etec warning. It looks like a Merc is in my future. I'm torn between the Optimax and four-stroke. I had a 50hp Yamaha four-stroke on my old mooching boat that made me swear to never own another two-stroke. That thing was so quiet and had such great fuel consumption at low speeds, that I pretty much quit using my 6hp kicker.

Surprisingly, the Ranger T188 with 90 ETEC is $600 less...of course, that doesn't include a comparison of the packages more than boat, motor and trailer. There are some great comments in this thread, and some great ideas. I'm still searching for a used boat and will do so until I sign the check for whatever I buy. I did find a 2013 17TXW for $10-$11K and a Cherokee for under $4K recently. I may end up looking at both of those. The Cherokee could use a new motor... The only problem I have with aluminum is that I can't do significant modifications to a boat myself as I don't weld. Fiberglass modification is a snap in comparison. However, aluminum is still my choice of hull. I'm off to southern Alabama on Sunday, but when I get back, I'm going to try to arrange test rides in both the Ranger and Tracker, and that will help. I might add a Lowe in there as well, but the Lowe deep vees are out of the frame. I did find out that Cabela's in Rogers is getting in some Alumacraft console vees in mid February, so I've got to check those out as well. I do like the brand, and if its standards haven't changed too much, that is a possibility as well. J-Doc-- was the Ranger you looked at one of the RT series? If not the hunting series Rangers have a significantly different hull, more of the old-style jon-boat (not flat bottom, but mod-vee like my Starcraft). The marine dealer on Walnut by Hobby Lobby has both the RT 178 and RT 188 in stock if you're interested. There also is one of the hunting style boats that had been on display in front of the place.

Room for coffee is always essential. First-- this is going to be my retirement boat, not that people in my line of work retire, but I intend to get a boat that will keep me happy for quite a while. I also want a safe boat. Since Iim getting older, I don't want to be doing things like losing my balance and taking a dip, so I'm looking at that aspect as well. I do like the layout of Fins' boat, and I'll probably follow much the same program. While I haven't hunted here yet, that is on my list of things to do next year. I probably would either go with a shore blind or a lightweight layout boat that would be transported by the mother ship. As for the aluminum-fiberglass camp, I definitely prefer aluminum for rocky lakes as I do want to beach the boat for hunting, calls of nature, family time and so on. I do not want to worry about damaging a glass hull. Also, initial cost is a factor as well as the cost of towing and running a heavier boat. I've heard good things about the ride of the Ranger aluminums--smooth, quiet and so on, and that's why I've looked at those. But I've owned three Lunds and run a buddy's 1800 Pro V enough to know the line. Lund makes a good deep vee boat, and I'm tempted to pick up a used one, but they aren't quite as casting friendly as they could be because of the level of the front deck. Back when I worked for Bass & Walleye Boats, I had an Alumacraft and a Crestliner for a season. Both were good hulls and while different, just as nice as a Lund in their own way. But I'd like to get a dealer in the area to work with, and they are thin on the ground in Arkansas... Currently, I run an 18-foot Smokercraft/Starcraft/Sylan Sportsman (the same hull that can be badged for any of the brands)--a mod-vee jon-style hull designed to serve as an entry-level jet sled for Northwest rivers. Instead of a pump, though, I added a 50hp Yamaha two-stroke prop. The package works OK, but it's just OK. There is no real storage for anything nor a livewell. The tiller leaves a lot of room, but still, unless I was to do a lot of reconstruction and add storage and a livewell, it won't serve my purposes. Even with the modified vee, it's a rough-riding boat in certain chops, and it can be wet in a crosswind. It is well-suited for downriggers, and I've a pair of small manuals that run off the stern quarter tanks. As for the fishing program, I'll chase anything from bluegills to walleyes. I'm not a big fan of trolling, but I do like to catch fish, and I'm finding it's a technique that works well. I will do a lot of trolling, but I also like to cast and will be doing that as well, so I want to troll and cast, and I need a boat that will work well for both. I don't need a ton of room, but I will be fishing with one or two others on occasion. I'm hoping my grandson will take it up when he gets beyond the crawling stage. I do appreciate the comments and am looking for more. Keep 'em coming, please!